East Coast Main Line to be Nationalized!

[Tom F]

Just read it this morning!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8127851.stm
Must admit i was surprised, question is, when will the other companies follow?

[52A]

EH?

[hq1hitchin]

Only temporarily, if you read the small print. What else can you expect from a government that would cheerfully flog off the Post Office if they thought they could get away with it?

[wehf100]

Well they paid a huge sum for it at the market's peak prices simply to screw-over good 'ol GNER, so it serves them right! Hopefully it'll be the Cambridge services next!

What worries me is after nationalization won't the govt want to dump it as quick as possible to pretty much anyone? I hope this doesn't result in even worse conditions.

Somehow I loved GNER- Something about it was somehow in true LNER tradition- and it wasnt just the similar name! Hopefully a company will come along that has a true pride in the route. Not just cashing in.

Will

[Ultimo Tiger]

So the country is almost broke and the government decides to takeover the ECML despite the fact it can't even afford the new carriers for the navy?

You know Mr Brown, the railways worked quite well before 1948 when they were FULLY privatised. Maybe he should try that instead of this horrid franchise system. Just sell the different reigons and all the infrastructure to one company each as it was during the grouping era. They can then either swim or sink.

On the other hand this is good news for Labour supporters as they're finally being socialist again. Dennis Skinner will be happy.

Sometimes I think they should just sell the network to the preservationists to run whatver they like on. They'd probably do a better job than anyone else has.

[Bill Bedford]

You know Mr Brown, the railways worked quite well before 1948 when they were FULLY privatised. Maybe he should try that instead of this horrid franchise system. Just sell the different reigons and all the infrastructure to one company each as it was during the grouping era. They can then either swim or sink.

But they were more or less bankrupt by the early thirties and had to rely on government handouts for most of their capital investments. Were streamlined trains a good use of tax-payers money?

[hq1hitchin]

You know Mr Brown, the railways worked quite well before 1948 when they were FULLY privatised. Maybe he should try that instead of this horrid franchise system. Just sell the different reigons and all the infrastructure to one company each as it was during the grouping era. They can then either swim or sink.



Sometimes I think they should just sell the network to the preservationists to run whatver they like on. They'd probably do a better job than anyone else has.

Certainly not the case as far as the LNER was concerned. By 1948 they were virtually bankrupt, worn out by service to the nation during the war certainly, but they had been struggling financially more or less since it had been formed. As for selling the network off to a bunch of preservationists, this is clearly a nonsense. The railways principally exist to carry passengers and freight, in large volumes, not to provide a playground to those who want to run trains.